Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo Alleges Roger Goodell, NFL Team Owners Gamble On Games While Venting About Players Being Suspended

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With multiple NFL players around the league being handed lengthy suspensions for violating the league's gambling policies, it got Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo to thinking, which as it typically does, resulted in quite a spicy take.

Five players were suspended for gambling in April while another group of four players was suspended by the league Thursday. Some players are alleged to have bet on actual NFL games, sometimes their own teams, while others were allegedly caught betting on other sports, but inside team facilities, which violates policy.

These lengthy suspensions, which range from six games to a full season, don't make much sense to Russo because, in his mind, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and team owners around the league are likely gambling too.

"A year suspension for a league that is in bed with FanDuel, DraftKings, and every gambling establishment known to man; that put a Super Bowl in Las Vegas on the strip, where you can go out there and bet the games," Russo said on Wednesday's 'Mad Dog Unleashed,' per Mediaite. "And I guarantee if you go out to Vegas this year, you’ll see Roger betting. You don’t think Roger’s going out there, playing a little bit?”

Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo accuses Roger Goodell of gambling. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

While Russo taking aim at Goodell doesn't come as a surprise given he's everyone's punching bag, he continued to mention owners by name who he wouldn't be shocked to learn are gambling on games during the season.

“You don’t think (Kansas City Chiefs owner) Clark Hunt — and I love Hunt — you don’t think he has some fun with it?” he continued. “On a Monday night, his Chiefs have a bye week, and the Monday night game is Houston and Indianapolis — a horrible game — and he’s gonna sit there and watch it. You don’t think he says, ‘You know what? What the hell. Put a hundred bucks on the Colts.’"

Russo also mentioned the Rooney family, which owns the Pittsburgh Steelers, as the family who "all they did was bet the horses." He went on to cite former NFL owner Carroll Rosenbloom who "bet a quarter of a million dollars on the Giants-Colts in 1958."

Nothing Russo is saying is far-fetched by any means, he's essentially saying what we're all thinking.

In today's day in age where you can place any sort of sports wager within seconds on your phone, in most states, it would be more of a shock to find out that zero big wigs with the league weren't dabbling in sports wagering than at least a handful.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.